Many Still Not Using Seat Belts

It`s been a year since Florida`s mandatory seat belt law went into effect, and officials say that drivers are using the same old excuses for not buckling up.

``A lot of people say seat belts wrinkle their clothes,`` said Nat Herbst, manager of traffic and safety for the East Florida American Automobile Association. ``Others say seat belts don`t give them enough freedom in their cars.``

Lt. Max Shell, of the Florida Highway Patrol, said the most popular excuse for not wearing seat belts was from people who say they`re afraid the belts will trap them in their car if it goes into a canal.

``I hear that one every time I talk to a group about seat belts,`` said Shell, who added that he doesn`t buy any of the excuses.

``A lot of people have heard myths about seat belts and they won`t wear them,`` Shell said. ``If they saw what happened to some accident victims who didn`t wear their seat belts, they`d wear them.``

Maria Lamper doesn`t have to be convinced to buckle up. Her seat belt probably saved her life.

``I wouldn`t recommend anyone get in their car without wearing a seat belt,`` Lamper said.

The 65-year-old diabetic blacked out about 1 p.m. on June 10 while driving west on Lantana Road, just east of U.S. 441.

Her car veered off the roadway, slid through the grass on the north shoulder of the road and smashed into a telephone pole, according to Florida Highway Patrol reports.

The lower part of Lamper`s body was trapped in the wreckage. The steering wheel was pressing against her abdomen, but her seat belt was still fastened.

``She probably wouldn`t have made it if she wasn`t wearing a seat belt,`` Fire-Rescue Lt. Steve Hobbs, said after the accident.

``I could feel my seat belt holding me back,`` Lamper said. ``I probably would have hit the dashboard if I hadn`t had it on.``

Lamper, who lives in Hollywood, underwent plastic surgery on her face after the accident. She also suffered a minor head injury and a broken left shoulder.

``I`m glad I had my seat belt on,`` she said. ``I`m lucky. It could have been a lot worse.``

Other Palm Beach County drivers weren`t so lucky.

Of the 92 people killed in automobile accidents in Palm Beach County from January to June 1987, 11 were wearing seat belts.

In the same time period in 1986, 105 people were killed in auto accidents; five were wearing seat belts.

Though a seat belt is helpful in many accident situations, in some cases they wouldn`t make much of a difference.

``Sometimes the impact of the accident is so great people are killed with or without their seat belt,`` Shell said.

He said a seat belt may not help a person in a crash where another vehicle smashes into the side of the car where the occupant is sitting.

``There was an accident in West Palm Beach where a young lady was killed when a truck hit the side of her car,`` Shell said. ``She was wearing a seat belt.``

Shell said seat belts are effective in saving lives and serious injuries in accidents where the occupants of the car would be thrown from the vehicle.

A spokeswoman for St. Mary`s Hospital in West Palm Beach said nurses in the hospital`s emergency room had noticed that more accident victims are wearing seat belts this year and many of their injuries are less severe.

Despite the merits of driving with a seat belt, the Florida Highway Patrol has handed out 10,366 tickets to Florida drivers not wearing seat belts.

The ticket carries a $20 fine. The law requires that drivers and all front- seat passengers be restrained by seat belts. The law is secondary, which means that police can`t stop cars for seat belt violations only. Cars must be stopped for another traffic violation. If the officer notices the driver or passengers aren`t wearing seat belts, he can issue a ticket for the violation.

According to an AAA survey, in September 1986 about 40 percent of Florida drivers were using their seat belts. In January 1987 it increased to 59.1 percent.

Despite the gain, Shell says he`s disappointed.

``I`m very surprised we don`t have more people buckling up,`` Shell said. ``If only more people understood the facts about buckling up.``